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Have you ever planned (or dreamed of hosting) an open house or a grand opening for your skin care business? If so, these common what-ifs may unexpectedly have snuck into your mind. What if ...

... I can’t get people to take time out of their busy schedule to come to my modest little event?

... I don’t get new clients in the door or make money from my event?

... I can’t figure out how to use this event to grow my business?

Planning an open house can be (and usually is) a scary task for any skin care practitioner. The what-ifs—accompanied by worry, anxiety and stress—can overwhelm anyone and, quite often, prevent success.

You’re not alone!

You can breathe easy—there is a way to stop the what-ifs. Following is an eye-opening lesson on how to create an effective marketing message that is sure to spark the interest of a lot of people in the area.

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The Ho’ola Spa on Ka’anapali Beach at Honua Kai Resort & Spa in Lahaina, Hawaii in Maui, created an awe-inspiring grand opening event. When guests arrived at the party, it looked like close to 100 were people waiting to get in.

“Community involvement is a major key to successfully marketing your business,” says Debbie Evans, the Ho’ola spa director of operations and development. Here are five tips to create successful community involvement.

1. Ask around to find out what your community is passionate about. Maui has a strong community of local artists, so Ho’ola Spa decided to get involved in the art community while spreading the message that the spa was now open and ready for business.

2. Donate to a local charity. Each participating artist had to enter their work into a jury panel along with a fee. The panel then voted on the pieces of art to be featured for display on the spa walls at the grand opening. The fee was donated to a local school charity.

3. Earn your Facebook page valuable “likes.” Once the judges picked pieces to be displayed at the grand opening, the spa posted pictures of the art the on its Facebook page. Plus, the artists were also told to get the word out so people could vote on their favorite creations. Because Ho’ola Spa encouraged further community involvement, the spa had 270 “likes” before it even opened, which translated into 270 potential new clients.

4. Attracting the local community. You must create an enticing reason for people to attend your event. The art contest is what brought them all together on Facebook, so it made sense to bring them into the spa for an announcement of the winning pieces of art and hand out the prizes at the grand opening. These artists were so excited that many of them invited friends and family along for the event, which meant additional potential clients, too.

5. Build your list. Just be sure to think long-term. In this case, the grand opening event and art competition combined into a valuable opportunity to build the new spa’s marketing list. The lesson: Be sure to capture the attendees’ name and contact information. When you do, you can use those names to consistently remind potential clients that you are open for business and excited to earn their loyalty, as well as remind them of special future offers and opportunities.

Keep in mind that the more people in your community that you involve, the more your business will become the talk of the town. Creating a supportive environment along with donating to a cause are amazing feel-good ways to contribute to the success of your facility.

Lori Crete, founder and president of The Spa 10 and The Esthetician Mentor, is a licensed esthetician and spa owner with 12 years of experience in the field of esthetics. She is the author of The Six-Figure Esthetician System, is a business coach and mentor, and is a member of the 2014–2015 Skin Inc. Editorial Advisory Board.